Pereira moving up to light-heavy for GLORY 68 MIAMI title fight

LOS ANGELES: Brazilian standout Alex ‘Po Atan’ Pereira (30-6, 19 KO’s) is looking to make history when he enters the ring at the James L Knight Center in downtown Miami, Florida on Saturday, September 28 for the main event fight of GLORY 68 MIAMI.

Pereira, the reigning GLORY middleweight champion, will be attempting to become the first fighter to hold title belts in the middleweight and light-heavyweight division simultaneously. Standing in his way will be Donegi ‘The Silverback’ Abena (24-6, 6 KO’s), of Suriname by way of the Netherlands.

Sao Paulo’s Pereira had been targeting a showdown with light-heavyweight champion Artem Vakhitov, but the Russian broke his hand during his recent defense against Abena and is sidelined until 2020.

The interim world light-heavyweight championship is on the line in Miami and Abena, who strongly disputed the split-decision which went against him versus Vakhitov, now has a second chance to become the youngest fighter ever to win a GLORY world title.

“Pereira is the most dominant middleweight champion in GLORY history and pound-for-pound probably the most dangerous striker on the planet today. The fact he’s moving up in weight to pursue a light-heavyweight title speaks volumes about his confidence,” said Marshall Zelaznik, GLORY CEO.

“In Abena, you’ve got one of the hungriest young fighters I’ve ever come across. He endured a very tough upbringing and he channels that into his dream of becoming a world champion. Pereira has a distinguished career but this is the toughest challenge he’s ever faced.”

Also competing at GLORY 68 MIAMI will be Florida’s own Asa ‘American Ninja’ Ten Pow (10-1, 5 KO’s).

Fighting out of West Palm Beach, FL, the rising featherweight prospect has gone 5-0 in GLORY and looks to build himself a 6-0 platform from which to call for a world title shot when he faces England’s Bailey Sugden (12-4, 2 KO’s).

Other key bouts on the card include a clash between former champions Tiffany van Soest (19-4-1, 6 KO’s) of Riverside, CA and Jady Menezes (13-3, 5 KO’s) of Curitiba, Brazil, with the winner edging back into the contender picture, plus Vancouver, Canada’s Josh Jauncey (30-9, 15 KO’s) against Tel Aviv, Israel’s Itay Gershon (16-5, 6 KO’s) and the return to the ring of top US prospects Troy Jones (12-1, 10 KO’s) and Bekah Irwin (6-2, 1 KO).

Tickets for GLORY 68 MIAMI first go on sale Wednesday, August 13 via an exclusive pre-sale available only to fans who register at GloryKickboxing.com to receive the pre-sale password.

Pre-Sale begins at 9 AM ET on Wednesday, August 14 and is open until General Sale begins on Thursday, August 15 at 10:00 AM.

The full card for GLORY 68 MIAMI is as follows:

MAIN CARD
Alex Pereira (BRA) (30-6, 19 KO’s) vs. Donegi Abena (SUR) (24-6, 6 KO’s)
for the Interim World Light-Heavyweight Championship (209 lbs / 95 kgs)

Asa Ten Pow (USA) (10-1, 5 KO’s) vs. Bailey Sugden (UK) (12-4, 2 KO’s)
Featherweight Bout (143 lbs / 65 kgs)

Troy Jones (USA) (12-1, 10 KO’s) vs. Ammari Diedrick (UK) (19-7, 5 KO’s)
Welterweight Bout (170 lbs / 77 kgs)

Mike Lemaire (USA) (22-5, 8 KO’s) vs. Richard Abraham (USA) (14-7, 4 KO’s)
Welterweight Bout (170 lbs / 77 kgs)

Josh Jauncey (CAN) (30-9, 15 KO’s) vs. Itay Gershon (ISR) (16-5, 6 KO’s)
Lightweight Bout (154 lbs / 70 kgs)

SUPERFIGHT SERIES CARD
Tiffany van Soest (USA) (19-4-1, 6 KO’s) vs. Jady Menezes (BRA) (13-3, 5 KO’s)
Super-Bantamweight Bout (122 lbs / 55.3 kgs)

Sergej Maslobojev (LIT) (29-5, 19 KO’s) vs. TBC 
Light-Heavyweight Bout (209 lbs / 95 kgs)

Ivan Galaz (CHL) (58-9, 15 KO’s) vs. Matt Baker (USA) (23-7, 12 KO’s)
Middleweight Bout (187 lbs / 85 kgs)

Abraham Vidales (MEX) (14-0, 11 KO’s) vs. TBC
Featherweight Bout (143 lbs / 65 kgs)

Chommanee (THA) (92-17-1, 15 KO’s) vs. Aline Pereira (BRA) (5-1, 1 KO)
Super-Bantamweight Bout (122 lbs / 55.3 kgs)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Rebekah Irwin (USA) (6-2, 1 KO) vs. Crystal Lawson (USA) (2-1, 1 KO)
Super-Bantamweight Bout (122 lbs / 55.3 kgs)

Nick Chasteen (USA) (10-6) vs. Keemaan Diop (USA) (3-1, 2 KO’s)
Welterweight Bout (170 lbs / 77 kgs)

Ross Levine (USA) (3-0, 3 KO’s) vs. Sean Choice (USA) (8-3)
Welterweight Bout (170 lbs / 77 kgs)

Omari Boyd (USA) (13-2, 1 KO) vs. Charles Rodriguez (USA) (9-1, 4 KO’s)
Lightweight Bout (154 lbs / 70 kgs)

Roberto Villa

Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.